ECW Unit 2 Summative B– “If I Could Save Time in a Bottle” Research

Journal

Action plan:
Steps Objective Specific actions to take Planned Actual Resources Success
completion date completion Criteria
and estimated date and time
completion time
1 Introduction of 1. Download the task sheet on March 29th, March 29th, Summative I knows what
the task and ManageBac and read 2023, 30 mins 2023, 25 mins task sheet to do next, and
understanding through it will be able to
it. 2. Ask questions (if you have rephrase and
any) to the teacher introduce this
task to another
person who
does not know
about it and let
him/her
understand.
2 Eat M&Ms 1. Go to a shop and buy some March 31st, March 31st, M&Ms Swallows at
M&Ms 2023, 10 mins 2023, 10 mins least 500
2. EAT THEM M&Ms (don’t
forget to brush
teeth LOL)
3 Create a draft 1. List out the broad steps April 5th, 2023, April 7th, 2023, Help guide Clear, realistic,
action plan 2. Write specific actions to 30 mins 100 mins action plan demonstrates
take for each step on understanding
3. Set the due dates and Managebac of the scope
estimated completion time and sequence,
for each step. used to track
4. Write what resources will be and reflect
 used in this step (things like
guide files,
guiding/supporting websites
such as citation generating
website, etc.)
5. Write the success criteria.
This can be keywords from
the rubric.
4 Conduct 1. Search the keywords of the April 7th, 2023, April 8th, 2023, Google After my
preliminary topic I want to know (E.g: 1 hour 4 hours search preliminary
research that child labor in the US during engine, research, I
helps me second IR) library data should have an
understand 2. Also search this in the bases, idea of how the
industrial library data bases. Library of “road” will be
revolutions in 3. Read some of those Congress, like ahead if I
different secondary resources and Nation were to do my
countries understand the topic. Archive, summative on
4. Take some preliminary JSTOR, this topic. I
research notes books in should also
the library, have some
etc. basic
knowledge and
understanding
of the topic
which allows
me to talk
about it to
others.
5 Pick a 1. Pick a revolution Apr 8th, 2023, April 10th, Summative RQs have clear
revolution and 2. Pick a topic 10 minutes 2023, 20 task sheet, directions
create several 3. Create some draft RQs that minutes preliminary showing where
draft research focuses on different aspects research it is going. For
questions that of the topic (E.g: child labor notes example, if I
 focuses on affecting economy, affecting picked the
different aspects social, representing social aspect of child
inequality, etc.) labor, then my
RQ should be
something like:
the effects of
child labor in
the society.
6 Determine a 1. Pick a final aspect on the Apr 9th, 2023, 1 Apr 12th, 2023, Help guide RQ needs to be
final aspect and topic chosen. hour 1 hour and 30 research clear, focused,
create a final 2. Modify the draft RQ and minutes question and complex;
research make it clear, focused, and and justification
question with complex. If not sure, can go justification needs three of
justification, ask Mr. Neyens on the following:
then break it 3. Use the RQ justification Managebac personal
down into guide to write the interest,
several guiding justification. Don’t forget to relevance to
questions include three of the the unit two
following: personal interest, statement of
relevance to the unit two inquiry,
statement of inquiry, concepts,
concepts, and/or global and/or global
context, manageability, context,
availability of resources, manageability,
ability to be assessed, availability of
originality. resources,
ability to be
assessed,
originality.
7 Finish guiding 1. Use all the websites found April 11th, 2023, Apr 13th, 2023, Google Can
question 1 with during the preliminary 1 hour 30 minutes search successfully
citation research (E.g: Library of engine, cover all parts
Congress, JSTOR, National library data of the guiding
 Archives, etc.) bases, question
2. Search the guiding questions Library of thoroughly,
also on Google and find Congress, with evidence
some reliable sources to Nation supporting
answer the question. Archive, claims, notes
3. Go find some books in High JSTOR, well organized
School/Middle School books in and easy to use
library about child labor and the library, (for example,
American’s second IR. Read etc. the key points
through them and check if are highlighted
there is useful message or underlined).
Citations are
used correctly
(both intext
and full).
8 Finish guiding Same as above April 12th, 2023, Apr 13th, 2023, Same as Same as above
question 2 with 1 hour 3 hours above
citation
9 Finish guiding Same as above April 13th, 2023, Apr 14th, 2023, Same as Same as above
question 3 with 1 hour 8 hours above
citation
10 Finish guiding Same as above April 14th, 2023, Apr 14th, 2023, Same as Same as above
question 4 with 1 hour 4 hours above
citation
11 Finish guiding Same as above April 16th, 2023, Apr 17th, 2023, Same as Same as above
question 5 with 1 hour 2 hours above
citation
12 Finish guiding Same as above April 18th, 2023, Apr 18th, 2023, Same as Same as above
question 6 with 1 hour 1 hour above
citation
13 Finish guiding Same as above April 20th, 2023, Apr 20th, 2023, Same as Same as above
question 7 with 1 hour 1 hour above
citation
14 Finish guiding Same as above April 21st, 2023, Apr 21st, 2023, Same as Same as above
question 8 with 1 hour 30 minutes above
citation
15 Find 3-5 1. Go to primary sources April 22nd, Apr 18th, 2023, Same as Same as above
primary artifacts websites, such as Library of 2023, 30 1 hour (I have above
and cite them Congress minutes finished this
2. Search keywords like step while
“mills”, “child labor” inside finishing
the website and check for guiding
primary resources question 6)
16 Write the 1. Review my unit 1 April 24th, 2023, Apr 24th, 2023, Help Thoroughly
reflection in the Summative B reflection and 30 minutes 30 minutes reflection weights my
research journal check for the teacher’s guide on strengths and
feedback. Managebac, limitations
2. Follow the reflection guide my unit 1 performed
and write the reflection. reflection during this
with summative.
teacher’s
feedback
17 Finalize the 1. Check for intext citations April 24th, 2023, Apr 24th, 2023, Task sheet, Has a clear,
research and full citations, see if there before lights 5 minutes Mybib focused &
journal, make is any error. out, 20 minutes citation complex RQ
sure all the 2. Check the task sheet, and generating with at least 3
guiding make sure everything is in website aspects in the
questions are my RJ. justification;
answered, and the research
all citations are notes have
included, and appropriate,
upload to relevant and
Managebac varied data, has
primary
sources; the
action plan is
 realistic, clear,
demonstrates
the scope of
sequence of the
task, and can
be used to track
and reflect; the
reflection
thoroughly
weights my
strengths and
limitations
performed
during this
summative.
18 Work on the 1. Check the research notes May 1st, 2023, Example Uses a wide
letter and finish and take out all the key 10 hours letter, range of
it points. research accurate
2. Read the example letter journal, vocabulary,
again summative presents the
3. Follow the instructions on task sheet ideas
the task sheet and the effectively,
criteria in the rubric, and accurately, and
complete the letter completely.
19 Complete 2 1. Pick two sources May 5th, 2023, 3 Help guide Examines the
OPCVL 2. Follow the guide and hours OPCVL, origin, purpose,
analysis analyze the OPCVL of the OPCVL and content of
source formative 2 different
practice, sources,
unit 1 judging the
feedback value and
limitations of
the sources.
 20 Check the 1. Check if everything May 7th, 2023, Summative The letter uses
rubric and see if mentioned in the rubric 30 minutes task sheet, a wide range of
everything is and task sheet is on the unit 1 accurate
completed and final work Summative vocabulary,
upload the final 2. Check the feedback ACD file presents the
product. given for Unit 1 and ideas
Summative ACD and feedback. effectively,
check if Unit 2 accurately, and
Summative ACD has the completely.
same problem. The OPCVL
examines the
origin, purpose,
and content of
2 different
sources,
judging the
value and
limitations of
the sources.

Research question:
To what extent was child labor used in during the development of cotton production in the American’s second industrial revolution?

Justification:
I created this research question since I always doubted the authenticity of the sources I have read before about child labor during
American’s second industrial revolution. I want to verify the points made in those sources, since, in most of them, the severity of child
labor was always greatly emphasized, yet there was little, or even no realistic and reliable primary sources to support those arguments
in the sources. Most of the sources appear to me as opinions coming out from people’s mouth. Therefore, I want to learn about the true
situation of children during American’s second industrial revolution and verify the authenticity of my prior knowledge, through both
realizable primary and secondary sources. By researching this question, I hope to learn the real situation of children during
American’s second industrial revolution. This is a valuable topic to investigate since it relates to the SOI of our current unit, which
makes it relevant. The SOI states that “Students will understand that the desire for growth may lead to social, political, and economic
inequality.” This relates to my topic since the desire of growth in America is present in many forms, with one of which being in the
development of production lines and the desire of cheap laboring forces from factories. Yet, this kind of desire of growth eventually
sharpended a kind of social inequality – child labor. It is important in modern life to learn about this kind of social inequality. I, as one
member of the new generation in the modern days, can be aware of this problem. Child labor is still occurring in developing countries,
and similar social inequalities may still emerge, so we need to have the awareness to identify and avoid it, preventing the history from
repeating itself. After some preliminary research, it is clear that there are primary resources available online which are about child
labor during American’s second industrial. One example is Lewis W. Hine, who is a photographer travelling throughout the United
States during 1908 to 1918, documenting the poor working conditions of children in factories, textile mills, canneries, and coal mines.
He took hundreds of photographs under the employ of the National Child Labor Committee (NCLC), which supports NCLC in
bringing out social and legislative reform (“Lewis Hine”). There are also book sources available in the libraries, which are all
secondary sources that analyzed child labor in different factories during American’s second industrial revolution. Furthermore, there
are even more secondary sources that focused on analyzing Lewis W. Hine’s photos, which provided me more information about his
photos. With the help of strong and authoritative primary sources from Lewis W. Hine, along with a numerous number of secondary
sources which I can cross-reference to check their reliability and authenticity, I believe my research question is researchable and can
be answered by authentic and valid sources.

Research notes:
Note:
- The highlighted, bold questions are guiding questions.
- Red intext citations mean that the source is primary.
- Underline = key information

1. How do we define child labor?

- Defined by the International Labor Organization (ILO), child labor means a type of work depriving children from their
childhood, potential and dignity, which will be harmful to children’s physical and mental development (Staff Reports).
- Child labor often forces children to leave school prematurely or forces them to go to school while doing extremely heavy
and long work (Staff Reports).
- Bringing into the context, child labor means a child of under the age of 16, who is working in one of these many types of
productions during American’s Second Industrial Revolution: ore mining, canning industry, agriculture, shoe shining,
newsboys, textile industry, and more. My research will be focusing on the child labor within textile industry.
2. What is the background or historical context of the development of cotton production during American’s second
industrial revolution?
a. American’s Second Industrial Revolution as a whole:
o The Second Industrial Revolution was from about 1870 to 1914. Centered mainly in America, it was a period of
groundbreaking advancements in manufacturing, technology, and industrial production methods (Longley).
o The main developments during this time were: steel, electricity, mass production (assembly lines), and the building
of a nationwide railroad network (Longley).
o This gigantic boost in technology enabled the arise of inventions that were of historical significance. These include
inventions such as: the telegraph, the telephone, the automobile, the radio, the lightbulb, and more (Longley).

b. Overall information of the cotton production in America:

o By the mid-19th century, 61% of raw cotton in the world was supplied by United States, with all of it grown in the
Southern states (“Industrial Revolution”).
o All the cotton produced in the Southern area will be then provided to the New England area for cotton processing.
o By the 1840s, textile mills were widely spread all throughout the New England states (“Industrial Revolution”).
o There were only about 156,000 bales of cotton produced in 1800 in America, yet this number skyrocketed to more
than 4,000,000 bales in 1860 (a bale is a compressed stack of cotton which weighed between 400 – 500 pounds),
which is about a few years before the start of American’s Second Industrial Revolution (Dattel).
- Therefore, by the mid-19th century, which is about 10 years before the American’s Second Industrial Revolution, the New
England and Southern states became the center of cotton production in US. Yet it led to many problems. The number of
enslaved people in America from 1790 to 1860 grew from 700,000 to 4,000,000 (Dattel). Children was part of that number.

c. Cotton Industry in the Southern States

o In the South, from 1880 to 1900, the number of spindles grew from 667,000 to over seven million (McKelway,
P.6).
o From 1890 to 1905, the South experienced a huge development in cotton manufacturing. In, 1880 the number of
spindles in Southern mills was 500,000. In 1890, it was 1,600,000. In 1900, it was 4,300,000; At last, in 1905, it
was 7,500,000. This tremendous growth and manufacture and industry had brought great demand for labor forces in
the cotton mills (Palmer, P.616).
o In 1904, the number cotton manufacturing establishments doubled as in 1900 (McKelway, P.6).
o North Carolina has the greatest number of mills among all states in the south, while South Carolina has the greatest
number of spindles among the Southern states (McKelway, P.6-7).
 o The cotton industry in the Southern states is centered in the four cotton producing states: Alabama, Georgia and the
two Carolinas (McKelway, P.7).
 Alabama: 65 of all sorts of cotton manufacturing establishments
 Georgia: 169
 South Carolina: 163
 North Carolina: 315
o The Southern States sent around 65% of their produced cotton to foreign countries at the time (McKelway, P.7).
o There were 238,881 employed operatives in 1906 in Southern cotton mills, according to the "Blue Book" of 1904-5.
Within this number, around 25% were children who were under the age of sixteen, as given by the census of 1900
(McKelway, P.8).

3. Did American’s second industrial revolution led to, created, or sharpened the social inequality – child labor?
- Child labor was not an invention of the Industrial Revolution. The origins of child labor can be dated back to the time of
transatlantic slave trade, which began in 1562 and lasted three centuries (Staff Reports).
- The first Industrial revolution which began around 1760 first in Britain, and the following U.S. Civil War, all performed
child labor (Staff Reports).
- Therefore, child labor has existed long before American’s second Industrial Revolution.
- As the economic tensions between American and England colonies increased, the desire of independency on manufacture
and production became more pronounced. As most men took care of farms during the time, America turned its eye towards
children and women; America can achieve their goal by manufacturers employing women and children and letting men
take care of the farms at home (Schuman, “History of Child Labor in the United States—Part 1”).
o Example:
o Throughout all the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries in America, the Court Records and Province Laws have
evidence that proved the serious attempts made trying to avoid idleness among children (Abbott, P.16).
o In 1640, the Great and General Court of Massachusetts brought out an order, which required the local magistrates in
several towns to observe "what couse may be taken for teaching the boys and girles in all towns the spinning of the
yarne (sic)." In 1641, another rule was brought out: "it is desired and will be expected that all masters of families
should see that their children and servants should be industriously implied so as the mornings and evenings and
other seasons may not bee lost as formerly they have bene (sic)." (Abbott, P.16)
o Child labor served the Hamiltonian commercial vision of America by providing labor to support industry.
Therefore, Alexander Hamilton, the Secretary of the Treasury, mentioned in one 1791 report on manufacturing that
 children “who would otherwise be idle” could be utilized to be a cheap labor force source (Schuman, “History of
Child Labor in the United States—Part 1”).
- These were some early representations of one of the few reasons for child labor. Furthermore, some similar beliefs
emerged in the society; labor benefited children because it helped them avoid the “sin” or “guilt” of idleness, while also
economically benefiting the society by helping in the increase of labor forces (Schuman, “History of Child Labor in the
United States—Part 1”).
o This type of belief spread through the society, resulting in women and children dominating the manufactures before
Civil War. However, the low level of manufacturing in America before the Civil War made women and child labor
remained in small scales (Schuman, “History of Child Labor in the United States—Part 1”).
- After the Civil War, the advances in manufacturing techniques increased the need of labor forces, which led the society to
take advantage of children labor force. Similarly, some labor forces fulfilled by slaves were also fulfilled by women and
children (Schuman, “History of Child Labor in the United States—Part 1”).
- The census of 1870 showed that that 1 out of every 8 children was employed in America at the time. In 1900, this rate was
increased to 1 out of every 5 children (Schuman, “History of Child Labor in the United States—Part 1”).
- Between 1890 and 1910, there were more than 18 percent of all children aged from 10 to 15 who worked in America
(Schuman, “History of Child Labor in the United States—Part 1”).

- Therefore, we can conclude that child labor was not a new concept before the Second Industrial Revolution. The reason for
it becoming visible and crucial to the society is its dramatic increase in scale. Before the Second Industrial Revolution,
there was a low manufacture and production demand since technology was not fully developed yet. In the Second
Industrial Revolution, mass production and assembly lines occurred, along with the advances in technology and
manufacture techniques; the demand of manufactures was high. This led to a higher demand of labors, and the society took
advantage of children and women laboring forces. This is the key factor that sharpened child labor during American’s
Second Industrial Revolution.

- Even though the Second Industrial Revolution brought more child labor into people’s sights, and caused the problem to be
more severe than ever in history before, there was an overall small decrease in percentage of child workers employed in the
cotton industry over the time frame of American’s Second Industrial Revolution (See graph below):
 Table 1 (Palmer, P.590)
- This suggests that as the problem of child labor emerged in the Second Industrial Revolution, the America government and
related organizations did act, which, even though to a small extent, decreased the percentage of child employed in cotton
industry

4. What was the overall situation, such as existing laws that regulated child labor and statistics, of the use of child labor in
the cotton industry during the time? How effective were the existing laws?
- Though there were practices of child labor common existing in all industries in America during the time, cotton industry
was perhaps the most severe one.
o In 1900, nearly one-fourth of the 100,000 textile workers in the South were children under 16 (Schuman, “History
of Child Labor in the United States—Part 1”).
o By 1904, the employment of children had increased to around 50,000; within this number, 20,000 were children
under 12 (Schuman, “History of Child Labor in the United States—Part 1”).
o Families, especially women and children, were the center of cotton production, with young girls being the central of
child labor in mill operations (Schuman, “History of Child Labor in the United States—Part 1”).
 Table 2 (Palmer, P.591)
- Context: This table shows the number of children (under 16) employees compared to adults (16 and above) in the
Southern and New England states. This investigation was conducted between 1907 to 1908, which was nearly the end of
American’s Second Industrial Revolution.
o From the table, we can see that the percentage of children employed during the time was 14%. It is still a very
shocking number, since the number of children employed during the time in the two regions was 11,376, which
meant that more than 10 thousand children worked in the cotton industry when they could have gone to school to
learn knowledge or enjoy their childhood.
o From it, we can also observe that the percentage of children employed in the Southern states was much higher than
the percentage in the New England states.
 This was due partly to the fact that in the Southern states, the employment of children of twelve and thirteen
was legal and customary (Palmer, P.591-592).
  Yet in the New England states, children must reach the age of fourteen to employ. There is one exception to
this: New Hampshire. At this state, children aged twelve and over might legally be employed when the
schools were closed or not in session (Palmer, P.591-592).
 Another possible cause to this was that in New England, there was better enforcement of the child-labor
laws than in the South.

- Situation of child labor in New England (1908):

Table 3 (left) (Palmer, P.594) and Table 4 (right) (Palmer, P.596)

- Existing laws: It was around spring and early summer of 1908 when this investigation was conducted (Palmer, P.588).
During the time, there were laws in the researchers-visited states in New England, which forbade the employment of
children under the age of fourteen in factories. Yet there were exceptions, such as New Hampshire, mentioned above, and
the canning industry in Maine (Palmer, P.593-594).
- There was, in each of the four States, a factory inspection system, yet illegal employment of children still existed (Palmer,
P.594).
o From table 3, we can observe that total ratio of illegally employed children in all the mills investigated was 7%.

- Existing laws (1907-1908): There were also laws that required age certificates or age and school certificates for all
children aged fourteen and fifteen (Palmer, P.595).
 o In Massachusetts and New Hampshire, children, who are under the age of sixteen, employed, must be able to read
and write in English (Palmer, P.595).
o Yet in Maine and Rhode Island, there was no such type of education requirement (Palmer, P.595).
o The certificates should be kept on file by the employers of factories, yet, in table 4, the data shows that the percent
of violation of the certificates required by the law was high; 53.8% of all the mills in New England did not provide
the required certificate for children, and 27.4% mills did not provide the required certificates for children aged
fourteen and fifteen (Palmer, P.595).
 The laws were well observed in Massachusetts, fairly well observed in New Hampshire, yet it was blatantly
violated in the other two states (Palmer, P.596).

- Situation of child labor in Southern States (1907-1908):

- Existing laws (1907-1910):
o Out of all the Southern States the investigator visited, other than Mississippi that had no child-labor law in 1908,
the other five visited Southern states all have laws that prohibited the employment of children under twelve years of
age, except for the canning factories in North Carolina (Palmer, P.596).
o In South Carolina and Georgia, orphans and children of widows or of aged or disabled fathers were an exception to
the laws if they were depending their living upon their own labor (Palmer, P.596).
 The laws of Georgia left an opening to such children: such children are allowed to employ for labors if they
are ten years of age or higher (Palmer, P.596).
 The laws of South Carolina allowed such children to employ for labor at any age (Palmer, P.596).
o From 1907 to 1910 (the time the investigation was made to the time of the publishment), the age limit in the law
had all increased (Palmer, P.597):
 Virginia: 14 (Palmer, P.597)
 North Carolina: 13, apprentices were permitted at the age of 12 (Palmer, P.597)
 Mississippi: forbid the employment of children under the age of 12 (Palmer, P.597)
o In 1907 and 1908 (the time of the investigation), five of the six Southern States that the investigator visited had
child-labor laws. Yet, there was only two states which enforced the law and factor inspection rules (Palmer, P.597).
 Virginia: had factory inspection since 1906 (Palmer, P.597).
 Alabama: a law about factory inspection just went into effect right before the state was visited, yet factory
inspections still did not go into effect when the state was visited (Palmer, P.597).
 South Carolina and Mississippi: had made laws for factory inspection at the time of the inspection (Palmer,
P.597)
 Table 5 (Palmer, P.597)

- From table 5, we can observe that total ratio of illegally employed children in the Southern States in all the mills
investigated was 7.9%.

Table 6 (Palmer, P.598)

- From table 6, we can see that the total number of children under the age of 12 working in the Southern States investigated
was 949. Out of this number, there were 165 children not recorded on the pay roll.
- The wages of these children were included within some other family members’ wages. They were known as " helpers."
o These children were undoubtedly under the legal age, yet the employer still wanted to let them work. This is when
the concept of “helper” comes into use. If the employer refuses to add the children’s names on the books of the
company and let other family members carry the "helper's" wages, then the employer could still give the children
work (Palmer, P.599).

- Systems and laws during American’s Second Industrial Revolution:

- The helper system:
o The helper system, to its core, was simply a trick that the employers made so that they could illegally employ
children for their own good.
o By saying the child is a “helper”, the employer can bypass all the laws about child labor, since the child is not
employed. He/she is only a “helper”. As long as the laws do not directly say “child working in factories are not
allowed”, then there would always be this gap where the employer could utilize to employ children (Palmer, P.599).
o In 1908, laws that directly prevented children from working in factories were not seen in the child-labor laws of
North Carolina and South Carolina, where the helper system was the most savage (Palmer, P.599).
o However, characteristics of laws that directly prevent children from working in factories were contained in the laws
of the other Southern States visited (Palmer, P.599).

- A system that closely related factories with families:

o As mentioned above, “the helper system” enabled children who were under 10 to assist their mothers with any
minor chores at the mill, without earning their own wages due to their limited skills. Mill owners saw the benefit of
doing so; in short term, these children in the mill benefited the parents; in long term, children could familiarize
themselves in their future workplace when they were small (Schuman, “History of Child Labor in the United States
—Part 1”).
o These children, usually, would soon be on their way in working in the mill for full time. The boys would often start
as doffers and sweepers while the girls often start as spinners (Schuman, “History of Child Labor in the United
States—Part 1”).
o In many ways, the mill was seen as an extension of the family unit. In the mills, the supervisors would monitor
children at work, but they would not be willing to discipline the children. Any trouble that the children caused in
 the factory would be left for their parents to take over. This suggested the close relationship between mills and
families during the time (Schuman, “History of Child Labor in the United States—Part 1”).

- Early laws:
o Background information, cause and result: child labor was not directly eliminated in America. Instead, it went
through a long movement which was fueled by the care from people about the lack of education for children instead
of the desire to improve the poor working conditions the children suffered in (See the last bullet point in guiding
question 7 for more detail) (Schuman, “History of Child Labor in the United States—Part 2”).
 Law(s): A focus on the issues mentioned above led to the pass of a law in 1813 by the Connecticut
legislature, which required children, working in factories, need to be educated in reading, writing, and
arithmetic (Schuman, “History of Child Labor in the United States—Part 2”).
 Problem(s): there were arguments in the society, which pointed out that these laws were the opposite to the
parents’ right and freedom of raising children, yet by 1850, three other states passed similar laws (Schuman,
“History of Child Labor in the United States—Part 2”).
 Law(s): 1836 National Trades’ Union convention was the first organization which called for an age
minimum limit for child workers in factories. This rise of call for legislative intervention resulted in the
responses of these states (Schuman, “History of Child Labor in the United States—Part 2”):
 Massachusetts: in 1842, 12 age children should work less than or equal to 10 hours (Schuman,
“History of Child Labor in the United States—Part 2”).
 Connecticut: 14 age children should work less than or equal to 10 hours (Schuman, “History of
Child Labor in the United States—Part 2”).
 By the end of the 1840s, every New England state had a child labor law, which included relevant age
limits varying from 9 to 14 (Schuman, “History of Child Labor in the United States—Part 2”).
 Problem(s): these laws were merely just laws and were fairly limited during the time. The laws during the
time and the following decades merely impacted the practice of child labor. This is because many laws
contained exceptions (Schuman, “History of Child Labor in the United States—Part 2”):
 Children under the age limit can still employ if their parent agreed (Schuman, “History of Child
Labor in the United States—Part 2”).
 Some states allowed children to work more than the limited hour number if it was voluntary
(Schuman, “History of Child Labor in the United States—Part 2”).
 The most important of all was that the children were not aware of their ages during the time, and it
was hard to verify every specific child’s age. This was common in rural Southern areas and among
 immigrants, which led to the lack of documentary sources that proves children’s ages, making
requiring proof of age for employment difficult (Schuman, “History of Child Labor in the United
States—Part 2”).

o Cause and result: It was not until the release of data from the 1870 census, which recorded the number of child
laborers, that the society started to raise awareness and had the first widespread recognition of the problem
(Schuman, “History of Child Labor in the United States—Part 2”).
 Law(s): in 1872, the Prohibition Party became the first political party to include a provision in its national
platform, which condemned the practice of child labor (Schuman, “History of Child Labor in the United
States—Part 2”).
 Problem(s): the action and point of view was not common during the time.

o Cause and result: in 1874, at least 20 people, with most of them being young girls, and some were as young as 5,
were killed in a fire at the Granite Mill in Fall River. Many young girls were burned alive, suffocated, or killed in a
useless attempt of jumping to a safe place. This story made headlines across the country; however, people just
focused on the call for better fire-safety measures and making working situations safer, ignoring why were there so
many children in the mill (Schuman, “History of Child Labor in the United States—Part 2”).
o There was one exception: one Massachusetts resident wondered why the mill was filled with children. His solution
was to “Take the children out of the mills.” (Schuman, “History of Child Labor in the United States—Part 2”).
 Law(s): from 1885 to 1889, similar stories as mentioned above led to 10 states passing children working
minimum age laws, with 6 setting the limit of children’s working hours (Schuman, “History of Child Labor
in the United States—Part 2”).
 Problem(s): the new laws in some states still did not change the increase of number of child workers in the
United States. In 1890, there were more than 18% of children employed, aged from 10 to 15 (Schuman,
“History of Child Labor in the United States—Part 2”).
 By 1900, laws in the North had limited the practice child labor to an extent, yet it was still blatant and
widespread in the South (Schuman, “History of Child Labor in the United States—Part 2”).
 Thanks to the efforts done by the North, the enrollment of children across America in secondary schools
increased 150 percent from 1890 to 1900, while the population only increased for 21 percent (Schuman,
“History of Child Labor in the United States—Part 2”).
 Compulsory education laws were widely enacted and promulgated in all parts of America during the post-
Civil War period, except for the South, which was the worst-hit region of the practices of child labor due to
 the lack of proper child labor laws during the time (Schuman, “History of Child Labor in the United States
—Part 2”).

- Laws about education (1907-1908):

o In all the Southern States visited, there were no compulsory school laws. Yet, there were some laws that sort of
balanced education and labor:
 North Carolina: no child less than 13 years old could be legally employed (canning industry was an
exception), unless he/she had attended school at least sixteen weeks in the previous year (Palmer, P.599).
 Georgia: no child less than 14 years old could be legally employed, unless he/she had attended school for at
least twelve weeks in the previous year (Palmer, P.599).
 Alabama: no child between 12-16 years old could be legally employed, unless he/she had attended school
for at least eight weeks in the previous year (Palmer, P.599).
o Even with these regulations, little attention was paid by employers to these requirements (Palmer, P.599).

Table 7 (Palmer, P.611)

- From table 7, we can see that in the New England states, the percentage of children aged from 6 to 15 that were at school is
61.5%, while the percentage of children at work was only 30.7%. Yet in the Southern States, the percent at work was
60.1% while the percent in school was only 21.9%. This suggests that the New England States probably had better child
labor laws than the Southern States. This also proves that the Southern States was “the center of disaster” of child labor.
- Despite all the disadvantages of the lack of education, children staying uneducated also brings another problem: the child
workers will not be able to develop into a skilled laborer who can manipulate better machines in the factory. This is a
disadvantage directly related to the industries.
- The percent at work increases greatly in the age group where employment of children was allowed under the law (14 in
New England and 12 in the South) (Palmer, P.611).

- Laws about proof of age and affidavits that legalize the employment of children of widows or disabled/aged fathers:
o South Carolina and Georgia: many children legally employed by affidavits which declared that their fathers were
disabled. Yet the truth was that their fathers were healthy and able-bodied (Palmer, P.599).
o North Carolina: there were merely any attention paid to the laws requiring written statements of the promise of ages
for children (Palmer, P.599-600).

- Laws about working hours for women and children (1907 to 1908):
o Maine: 60 hours/week (Palmer, P.600)
o New Hampshire, Massachusetts, and Rhode Island: 58 hours/week (Palmer, P.600)
o All mills that got investigated in New England operated within the legal time, except one in Maine which was 61.8
hours a week (Palmer, P.600).
o North Carolina and Georgia: 66 hours/week (Palmer, P.600)
o Virginia and Alabama: 60 hours/week (Palmer, P.600)
o South Carolina: 60 hours/week (Palmer, P.600)
o Alabama: out of 13 mills, 10 mills exceeded the legal hours, with one operated for 67 hours 15 minutes (Palmer,
P.600)
o Mississippi: no laws, the mills investigated operated from 60 hours – 60 hours 15 minutes (Palmer, P.600)

- Therefore, we can conclude that at early stages of American’s Second Industrial Revolution, even though child labor was
not that severe and only took up around 7% of all workers in the Southern and New England states, most child labor laws
existed but were too weak and were ignored at most states. Child labor itself was a cruel and inhumane act, let alone the
illegal activities that got more even younger children involved. Nevertheless, child labor laws had been improving since the
problem emerged in the society, and the government was acting in solving the problem.
5. What were the main factors that led to the employment of children in the cotton factories during that time?

- From the employers’ perspective:

o Main factor: lack of laboring forces
 Many Southern manufacturers who were interviewed during the investigation said that they do not have
enough laboring forces they need, and that if child workers below 14 were excluded, then there would be
too much idle machinery (Palmer, P.616).
 As mentioned above in guiding question 2, the number of spindles in Southern mills grew from 500,000 in
1880 to 7,500,000 in 1905. This massive growth demanded tremendous requirement of labor forces. Since
there were not that many male workers available, manufacturers had to turn their gaze to women and child
workers.
 All departments of a mill depend on the spinning room; if the laboring forces there decreased, there be not
only idle machinery, but also big loss of production (Palmer, P.616).
 Furthermore, if workers under 14 were excluded, the families of these children would also leave the mills
and return to the farms or mountains, making the mills not only lose the forces of child workers, but also
lose the other working forces in the families (Palmer, P.616).
o Other factors:
 Children are agile and nimble; they can handle meticulous jobs than adults with stiff fingers
 Cheaper in employing (this is not always that case since some children were working to support their whole
family, such as the child who earned one-and-a-half times much money as his father. They needed more
payment.)
 More manageable
 Avoid idleness of children

- From the families’ perspective:

o Main factor: poverty
 The distinction between the living conditions of families directly affected if a child was going to factories or
not. Children from families at the lower classes were frequently employed, while in the upper classes, these
situations did not appear (Schuman, “History of Child Labor in the United States—Part 1”).
 According to one wealthy father in 1904, “We work for our children, plan for them, spend money on
them, buy life insurance for their protection, and some of us even save money for them.” (Schuman,
“History of Child Labor in the United States—Part 1”).
  Families at the lower end of the income scale were forced to use their children for their labor to earn enough
money for living. They did not have the luxury of saving money for the future (Schuman, “History of Child
Labor in the United States—Part 1”).

- By the turn of the 20th century, there were various labors that child workers performed, such as: mining ores, newspaper
delivery, farm labor, seafood industry, and more (Schuman, “History of Child Labor in the United States—Part 1”).
o With so many opportunities available for employment, children were seen as a resource at the time, instead of a
drain, for families who experienced poverty (Schuman, “History of Child Labor in the United States—Part 1”).

- Mill owners at the time acknowledged children as a primary requirement for the successful operation of a mill (Schuman,
“History of Child Labor in the United States—Part 1”).
o E.g: prominent South Carolina mill owner Lewis W. Parker described the main reason for the use of child labor in
the mill:
 “The unfortunate families back in the backwoods drifted to the cotton mills. When they drifted to the cotton
mills, what was to be done? It is not possible for a man who has been working on a farm, who is an adult—
after the age of 21 years, for instance—to become a skilled employee in a cotton mill. His fingers are
knotted and gnarled; he is slow in action whereas activity is required in working in the cotton mills.
Therefore, as a matter of necessity, the adult of the family had to come to the cotton mill as an unskilled
employee, and it was the children of the family who became skilled employees in the cotton mills. For that
reason, it was the children who had to support the families for the time being. I have seen instances in which
a child of 12 years of age, working in the cotton mills, is earning one and one-half times as much as his
father.” (Schuman, “History of Child Labor in the United States—Part 1”).

- Therefore, we can conclude that the employment of children was an act of supporting the whole family. Some families may
only have one child in their entire family that was working for their daily living. Children worked in mills was not because
they were forced by employers or families, it was because the living conditions for most families during the time was bad.
Children had no choice but to work in mills and other industries in order to fulfill their basic living standards.
 6. What were the working conditions for child workers in the cotton industry during the time?

Photo 1: Rhodes Manufacturing Company in Lincolnton, North Carolina, November 1908. In the photo was two young spinner girls
and their mother (Schuman, “History of Child Labor in the United States—Part 1”).
Photo 2: Children under sixteen years are dismissed half an hour before the rest at Priscilla Knitting Mills, Meridian, Miss. 5:30 P.M.
Location: Meridian, Mississippi (Hine, “Children Under Sixteen Years”).
Photo 3: Willie Crocker, (Barefoot) Wylie Mill, Chester, S.C. 13 Years Old-- ‘Worked since I Was 6 Years Old.’ Lost Part of Finger
in Gear of Machinery. Fred Crocker--11 Years Old. 1 Year in Mill. Location: Chester, South Carolina (Hine, “Willie Crocker,
(Barefoot) Wylie Mill, Chester, S.C.”).
Photo 4: Union Hospital Case - Estelle Poiriere, 137 Robeson St., 15 Years Old. Doffer at Granite No. 1 Mill. Laceration of Index and
Middle Finger of Right Hand. Caught in Card Machine. Injured Dec. 21, 1915 and Finger Grew Stiff and Had to Have Cord Cut. Still
an Outpatient in June and Not Working Yet. Location: Fall River, Massachusetts / Lewis W. Hine (Hine, “Union Hospital Case -
Estelle Poiriere”).
 Photo 5: Groups of Workers in Clayton (N.C.) Cotton Mills. Every One Went in to Work When Whistle Blew, and I Saw Most of
Them at Work during the Morning When I Went Through. Mr. W.H. Swift Talked with a Boy Recently Who Said He Was Ten Years
Old and Works in the Clayton Cotton Mill, Also That Others the Same Age Worked. Here They Are. I Couldn’t Get the Youngest
Girls in the Photos. Clayton Is but a Short Ride from the State Capitol. (the Superintendent Watched the Photographing without
Comment.) Clayton, North Carolina (Hine, “Groups of Workers in Clayton (N.C.) Cotton Mills.”).
 Photo 6: Interior of Magnolia (Miss.) Cotton Mills Spinning Room. See the Little Ones Scattered through the Mill. All Work. See
Also Other Magnolia Photos and Labels. Location: Magnolia, Mississippi (Hine, “Interior of Magnolia (Miss.) Cotton Mills Spinning
Room.”).
Photo 7: Child Labor in the Cotton Mills of Mississippi (Hine, “Child Labor in the Cotton Mills of Mississippi”)
 Table 8 (Palmer, P.605)

- From photo 1 to 6, above, we can observe that most of the children in the pictures did not appear to be in high spirits; most
of them were looking tired and slouching, with a serious look on their face. Their eyes were still shining with some light,
yet it was very dim and unnoticeable. Their innocence of being a child had been destroyed by the day-after-day, night-
after-night work.
- Some injuries were also displayed in the photos above (photos 3 & 4), suggesting that working in factories daily was not
safe to children, especially the ones who were very young. Child labor would likely raise the rate of child injury, and raise
the rate of child deaths, making the living environment of children at the time more hazardous.
- From photo 7, we can know that Mr. Mitahell, a farmer with at least 55 years of experience, moved to Meridian in around
1909 for better education opportunities for his children. Yet, the truth was that the two girls, aged 11 and 15, worked at the
knitting mills, while the two younger girls rarely went to school. From this, we can see the negative effect of child labor on
education.
- According to table 8, we can see that there were almost no fire escapes in mills investigated in the South, which further
proves the fact that the South was where child labor was the most blatant.
- Out of the 46 investigated mills in New England, 5 had bad sanitary condition for the toilets. Out of the 152 mills
investigated in the South, 76 had bad sanitary condition for the toilets (Palmer, P.605-606).
 - Furthermore, the dust and lint found in cotton mills were annoying and injurious to health, especially to ones who have
throat or lungs issues. Most of the mills inspected had much dust and lint floating in the air and seen all around (Palmer,
P.605-606).
- In conclusion, the working conditions during the time for children was not ideal, and the work load was still too much for
children, making them tired.

7. What were the attitudes of employers, workers, and the public towards child labor in the cotton industry during
America’s second industrial revolution?

- Physicians have expressed their concerns about the health of children working in cotton mills (McKelway, P.9-10).
o Children may be exposed to flying lint and suffer from respiratory diseases (McKelway, P.9-10).
o Furthermore, they are especially worried about the physical harm to young girls, since they are at a critical stage of
development; the negative impact on health may negatively affect future generations (McKelway, P.9-10).
- Farmers, on the other hand, are upset about the unfair competition between the mill and farm labor markets. They believe
that the mill owners are stealing people away from the farm for the factory by offering them the chance to put their children
to work for profitable wages. This goes against the natural and biblical law that parents should provide things for their
children (McKelway, P.9-10).
- Education leaders are against the rise of illiteracy in factory districts. They believe that child labor contributes to this
problem and are concerned about the future of education in the South (McKelway, P.9-10).
- Southern religious leaders are united, and are speaking out against the cruelty of the system and the harm it does to children
(McKelway, P.9-10).
- Politicians are starting to take notice of public discontent with child labor . They are feeling the pressure on taking action to
go against this evil practice (McKelway, P.9-10).
- The Southern press, both religious and secular, is pointing out the negative effects of child labor on the mill workers and
their children. They are calling for an end to child labor and more focus on education (McKelway, P.9-10).
- Even some mill owners are beginning to question the morality of profiting from child labor. They are starting to realize that
the health and well-being of little children should be more important than their own profits (McKelway, P.9-10).
- In America, the initial push of addressing the issue of child labor was due to the concerns over the lack of education they
received. The Puritan culture of New England, which attached great importance to a strong work ethic and a deep
understanding of the Bible, believed that children needed to be able to read in order to achieve salvation. Similarly,
secularists believed that education was essential in building a democratic society with educated citizens (Schuman,
“History of Child Labor in the United States—Part 2”).
 8. What main factor caused child labor to end? What laws did the government carry out to obliterate the wide spread of
child labor?

- In the early 1900s, labor and reform movements led to demands for laws that could regulate child labor in America (“Child
Labor”).
- The National Child Labor Committee (NCLC), organized in 1904, pioneered mass political action and campaigned for
tougher state and federal laws against child labor. Their initial success was mainly depended political environment of the
nation at the time, and the desire and need of reducing child labor in the society (“Child Labor”).
o Lewis W. Hine, originally being a teacher, quit his job and devoted himself in taking photos as evidence of child
labor for NCLC. He was NCLC’s strongest ally (“Child Labor”).
- Although many laws restricting child labor were passed, gaps remained, especially in the South, where child labor was the
most blatant (“Child Labor”).
- The Great Depression created changes in political attitudes, and President Franklin D. Roosevelt's New Deal sought to
prevent extreme child labor (“Child Labor”).
- The Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 set the minimum working age at 14 for employment outside of school hours and 16
during school hours, and non-agricultural work in interstate commerce required a minimum age of 16 during school hours
and 18 for hazardous positions (“Child Labor”).

- At last, these laws were successful since the society finally noticed the problem of child labor, which was the main factor
of stopping child labor. The widespread of disapproval towards child labor gave birth to the success of this reformation
(“Child Labor”) .
o Another minor reason was that the unemployed adults could finally get some chances when children were limited
in the workforce(“Child Labor”).

Reflection:
One of my strengths during the task was thinking skills, critical thinking skill of interpreting data. For example, in my fourth guiding
question, I had a lot of tables which consisted of different data collected during 1907 to 1908. I was able to successfully identify the
message within those data, interpret the trend, connecting it with other articles I read, cross-modifying to check the authenticity of the
points made in the articles. At last, I was able to successfully cross-modify and correct any wrong information I have in my mind
before I conducted the research. For example, I thought child labor emerged during the Second IR, and that it had become more and
more severe over that time. Yet, by analyzing the data, I found that child labor always existed, and that the severity of child labor
during that time actually decreased. Another strength during the task was research, information literacy skills of collect, record, and
verify data. As mentioned above, I did many cross-modifying of information during the process of my research. For instance, I had an
opinion on child labor before I have started this summative. I thought child labor was inhumane and it was the worst thing ever in
history. After the research, I realized that child labor was surely a social problem during the second IR, yet it did not appear to be
inhumane for the people and children during the time. Children worked not because they were forced and pressured, but because they
had no choice. After cross-modifying this information with articles and primary resources, I now have a wider and more complex
perspective of the whole picture. But I have showed weakness in self-management, use appropriate strategies for organizing complex
information. Even though it looked like as if I did deep research and found a lot of useful information, I was failing over the process of
organizing them. I could only list out bullet points in the research notes but could not really find a relationship between points. This
made the whole research process much more complicated and making finding information much harder. Next time, I think I should try
another type of organizing information, such as by table or by mind map. I have also shown weakness in self-management, plan short-
and long-term assignments. I have set deadlines for myself in the action plan, but I always found myself violating them. I always tell
myself, “It is okay, it is just one day late, it will not affect the whole process.” At last, what happens is that all these “one day late”
accumulated into nearly 5 days late, and I need to catch up on everything, making the pressure add up on me all at once. Next time, I
should let somebody else to supervise me, forcing myself to meet my own deadlines.
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